


Demarcate

by Warpony



Series: Feral Echoes [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Collars, Gen, Magic, Past Gladiator, Situational Mutism, past enslavement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23797543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warpony/pseuds/Warpony
Summary: The Nein make it safely to Zadash. Pumat Sol sheds a little light on the predicament of the collar.* * * * *Part of a larger WIP involving a D&D Original Character and the Critical Role Mighty Nein. Will eventually become current with C2E99 and branch away.
Series: Feral Echoes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711534
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Demarcate

"Its called a Demarcate Collar. Nasty bit of work. They don't come off easy, unfortunately." Pumat Sol Prime rumbles as he eyes the metal coil locked around Brunnera's throat. The firbolg enchanter flips back the lenses of his eyepiece and steps back so Brunnera can let his chin down again. 

"Demarcate?" Nott asks. 

"Fancy way of saying 'limits' or 'boundaries'." Pumat Prime explained with that slow smile the Nein had come to expect from him. "Only seen one once before and it wasn't as shifty as this one. It only had one lock. This ones got four. Its probably why you can't use any magic, too."

Brunnera's ear flicked even as his face stayed emotionless. He lifted a hand to touch the collar in thought; swallowed roughly a few times before trying to speak, pushing out each word with effort. "Can... you... get off? ... get it off?"

"Oh well, uh, thats the sad thing, friend. A little ol' Dispel Magic would sort it out just fine. But, well, to put it bluntly, it'll try to kill ya each time ya do it. And it needs four." Pumat Prime's face was twisted in genuine worry. 

"Kill him?! Seriously!?" Beau demanded. 

"A curse?" Jester squeaked softly. 

"Just cruelty..." Caleb muttered.

Pumat Prime nodded and pointed at the wizard. "Bingo. Theres just some... terrible things out there. This is one of 'em."

The Nein nervously looked between each other, Brunnera's tail switches anxiously behind him. "Can... can we tr... try? Cah... leb?"

" _Ja. Ja_ of course we can try. If that is what you want." The wizard agreed softly, motioning Brunnera to come closer and the firbolg padded over quietly. 

"Don't try to do more than one, there, alright?" Pumat Prime warned. 

The bay roan and blue fighter nodded and tilted his frame a bit, leaning to give the gingery wizard better access to his neck. Caleb rocked up onto his toes, reaching and skimming his hands along the surface of the Demarcate until he felt the icy pulse of magic within.

Brunnera sucked a deep breath, looking around at this small group that he'd come to care for in the short span of days traveling to Zadash together. He swallowed a few times, working up passed his mutism again, "Trust you..."

"I'll do my best to make be worthy of that, Brunnera." Caleb promised before he softly murmured a few arcane words and drew a sigil with heated fingertips against the metal. He kept his hands in place, willing the magic to unbind and feeling the faint internal mechanisms working. 

Under his hands the metal cooled... then went frigid despite his interal heat. Brunnera gave a violent jerk as if he'd been shocked. A harsh panting gasp escaped his chest before another jolt and the metal turned even colder. Caleb kept his grip despite the anxiety starting to flood his chest. The wizard pushed a bit of fire into his palms to keep them from freezing and willed the Dispel to take root. 

Brunnera let out a noise that was inhuman. A howl of absolute agony that made the Nein shout as one when the fighter's massive frame spasmed and lurched backwards from Caleb. Brunnera crashed hard into a table, splintering it under his weight and slamming into the floor with a sickening thud. Brunnera's entire body curled in on itself, muscles jerking and twisting in a violent seizure of pain. Then his whole frame went frigtheningly slack, chest jerking and shivering in shallow, wet gasps for air. The breath rushing out of him frosted in the air before disappearing. Brunnera's agate blue eyes were glazed and unseeing, a sluggish trickle of half frozen blood slipped from the corner of his mouth. 

Jester and Caduceus rushed forwards, healing spells already warming in their palms. 

Despite the thick fur Brunnera was cold to the touch. Jester's magic flooded through him first, forcing a deep breath of sugary, warm vanilla scented air into his lungs and forcing him to breathe and by subsequence cough and choke to intake air. The frozen muscles and blood in his veins thawing a bit, letting the spasms subside into violent shivers. 

Then the warmth of the Wildmother's magic wove through him. Flushing away the ice and sealing up burst blood vessels and veins all through his body. 

Brunnera curled himself up in a tight ball, splintered wood poking at him ignored as the fighter hid his face in his arms and tucked his tail tightly around himself, trembling and catching his breath. 

Fjord gently draped his cloak over the shaking firbolg. Brunnera tucked his face deeper, trying to hide a tear or two streaking over his cheeks. Frustrated, exhausted and feeling far to close to death's door. Closer than he ever had in the gladiator pits. 

Jester knelt next to the fighter, rubbing a soothing hand over his haunched shoulder. With the other she swept away a bit of wetness at the corner of her eyes. 

"Here," Pumat Prime pressed a glass vial filled with a familiar healing potion into Beau's hand. "Pour that into him when he's able to keep something down. On the house."

"One of the locks is open," Caleb rasped out. He gave himself a little shake. Beau set her free hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"One?" Fjord prompted. 

" _Ja... ja_ I felt it come undone. But only one." Caleb looked a little queasy. Nott scurried over to grab his hand.

"We can't put him through that three more times." Jester hiccuped softly, her voice a little wobbly. 

"And each lock is supposed to get worse," Pumat Prime rumbled gravely. 

"It would definitely kill him." Beau clenched the glass vial tightly. "So how do we get the stupid thing offa him?"

"... he's going to have to get stronger. Unless we chance revivifying him after every lock." Caduceus hummed thoughtfully, his ears flicked and swayed slightly as he pondered it. 

As they talked around him Brunnera's hitching and distorted breathing evened out and he carefully pushed himself up. Jester stayed close, keeping a firm hand on the fighter and offering her shoulder for him to post on to get to his feet. Brunnera wobbled slightly but stayed upright. He gave a heavy head shake, ears flopping listlessly at the movement. 

Keeping one large hand on Jester, nearly engulfing all of her shoulder in his grip, the fighter bent and scooped up Fjord's cloak, offering it back. 

Brunnera caught Caleb's eye, a difficult task for both of them considering how often they avoided eye contact with everyone as a general rule. "Th... thank you..."

The wizard nodded jerkily but didn't speak, shuffling forwards and gently tying Beau's blue sash back around the fighter's neck to hide the collar. Brunnera gave him a light pat on the back before he backed away again.

Then looking towards Pumat Prime, Brunnera rasped out his thanks again. The enchanter offered a small smile. "You folks better get your friend here some place for a long rest."

"Thank you again, Pumat. You've helped us a great deal." Fjord moved to brace himself on Brunnera's other side, encouraging the fighter to lean on him as well as Jester. 

"Aw well, you folks are excellent customers and good people way I figure it. I'm happy to help." Pumat Prime waved a hand and the broken table pulled itself back together until it was whole. He walked the Nein and Brunnera to the door, seeing them out onto the streets of Zadash. 

They stood for a moment, all lost in their own thoughts before Brunnera coughed, spitting out a glob of bloody phlegm and broke the spell, "...Balls."

"Lets get Brunny back to the inn." Jester encouraged, already steering the party in that direction.

"Brunny?" Beau asked with a half hearted smile. 

"I like it." Caduceus rumbled.

Brunnera let out a soft, accepting chuff, he gave Jester's shoulders a little squeeze. "Little sister..."

Jester beamed up at him, her eyes sparkling happily.

As they walked the fighter's movements got easier and by the time they'd made it back to the inn he was walking on his own, though his eyes were still glazed over with exhaustion. He could feel himself shivering slightly. There was a deep seeded cold in his core, he felt as if he couldn't get warm. He grit his teeth to keep them from chattering.

Brunnera didn't take in much of the conversation going on around him, the firbolg fighter more focused on staying upright and making way up the inn stairs to their rented rooms. He laid himself out on the floor of the room he was sharing with Fjord and Caduceus without hesitation, pillowing his head on his folded arms. The fighter shivered a bit, still feeling hollow and cold, dozing he felt a blanket draped over him before everything fell away.

When he roused later he wasn't sure of the time but the darkness in the room was telling. His ear flicked, listening as his senses cleared a bit. He could hear breathing and muted shuffling all aroung him. The fighter lifted his head to peer a bit into the dark. He didn't have dark vision but he could make out the shapes of the Nein all around him. They'd all curled up in a pile around him. Just like when they slept in the hut on the road.

Beau's head and shoulders were propped up on Brunnera's side. He could feel Fjord's back press up against his. Somewhere above his head Caduceus snore rumbled steadily. The fighter smiled a little, feeling the hard core of cold in his chest breaking apart and drifting away. He heaved a sigh and dropped his head back onto his folded arms, drifting back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> The Demarcate Collar is another homebrew design, a rare wonderous item, that I have put together on DnD Beyond. Its a nasty piece of work that causes exponentially levels of d12 Cold Damage. Its a little over powered so I haven't published it publicly either. Just used it for myself. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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